NEREJ & MSCC Business Summit: Transit-Oriented Housing, Economic Development, Infrastructure

Please join us on Wednesday, October 18th at Showcase Cinema de Lux, 73 Mazzeo Drive in Randolph for a New England Real Estate Journal & MSCC Business Summit.

The Metro South Chamber is partnering with the New England Real Estate Journal (NEREJ) to bring you an engaging event discussing topics such as Opportunity Zones, new housing and redevelopment, transportation, improving infrastructure, and building the future of the Metro South region. Regional leaders participating include Senator Michael J. Rodrigues; Executive Office of Economic Development Undersecretary, Ashley Stolba; Lynn Tokarczyk, Business Development Strategies, Inc.; Carol Conway Bulman, Jack Conway Realty; Stephen DiPrete, Chief Commercial Banking Officer, South Shore Bank; and Jason Korb, Capstone Communities.

This event is sponsored by Trinity Development and Management.

Registration is required for this event. In-person attendance is $99 and includes breakfast plus time for networking. Register now, this event will sell out. REGISTER ONLINE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nerej-metro-south-chamber-of-commerce-4th-annual-cre-summit-tickets-694148636257

Questions? Contact Naldo Cardoso, or call (508) 586-0500 x231.

ABOUT THE SPEAKERS

State Senator Michael J. Rodrigues was elected to the Massachusetts State Senate in 2010, and serves the First Bristol and Plymouth District, which includes Westport, Fall River, Freetown, Lakeville, Rochester, Somerset, and Swansea. He was appointed as Chair of the Senate Committee on Ways and Means, as well as the Vice Chair of the Senate Committee on Steering and Policy for the 2019-2020 legislative session. In the 2017-2018 session, he served as Senate Majority Whip, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Ethics, and Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Redistricting, and previously served as the Chair of the Joint Committee on Revenue. Prior to being elected to the Senate, Michael served 14 years in the House of Representatives, where he chaired the Committee on Commerce and Labor, the Committee on Labor and Workforce Development, and the Committee on Consumer Protection and Professional Licensure. He also served on the Committee on House Ways and Means.

Michael graduated from the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting. He is President and Treasurer of ABC Floor Covering, Westport, MA.

He is the recipient of numerous awards from a variety of local organizations. Senator Rodrigues was also distinguished by the President of Portugal in 2010 with the Medal of Prince Henry the Navigator, which is the highest honor bestowed upon non-citizens of Portugal. Visit malegislature.gov/Legislators/Profile/MJR0 to learn more about Senator Rodrigues.

Ashley Stolba, who has served as EOHED Undersecretary of Community Development since 2021, was recently named Undersecretary of Economic Foundations. She will expand her portfolio to foster foundational economic opportunities for residents, communities, and businesses across Massachusetts. Stolba will continue to lead the community development team by managing the Community One Stop for Growth, serving as vice-chair of the Seaport Economic Council, overseeing work to close the digital divide, and maintaining the state’s military installations. In addition to these duties, Stolba will now oversee other key foundational areas such as regional businesses assisted by the Massachusetts Office of Business Development; small, micro, and immigrant-led businesses; and the new Director of Rural Affairs. She will also now serve as the secretariat’s climate officer focused on climate infrastructure needs. Stolba will work closely with others across the Healey-Driscoll Administration on these areas of focus, as well as with quasi-government agencies such as MassDevelopment and the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation. Prior to joining EOHED, Stolba was Chief of Staff at the Harvard Allston Land Company and held roles as Deputy Chief of Staff and Legal Counsel at the Massachusetts Port Authority, Associate Counsel at the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, and Policy Analyst in the Massachusetts House of Representatives. A native of Mashpee, she received her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Miami and her juris doctor from Suffolk University Law School. Learn more at mass.gov/news/executive-office-of-housing-and-economic-development-announces-additions-to-leadership-team-new-pillars-of-economic-development.

Lynn Tokarczyk is the founder and president of Business Development Strategies, Inc. (BDS), the leading government incentives consulting firm in Massachusetts.

Lynn began her career as the founder and owner of an upscale women’s clothing boutique, where she honed her skills in sales and business. In 1995, she joined the Massachusetts Office of Business Development (MOBD) under the Cellucci administration as a project manager, later becoming a regional director. While at MOBD, Lynn educated the business community about economic development tools available through the state and assisted with key public infrastructure projects. She was then recruited by Ernst & Young as manager for the New England Area State and Local Tax Incentives practice, rising to senior manager before starting her own firm, BDS, in 2003.

Since its founding, BDS has helped privately and publicly held companies identify, negotiate and secure millions of dollars’ worth of tax incentives. Some of state’s best-known brands, including Samsonite, Horizon Beverage, Keurig, New England Ice Cream, MACOM, Analog Devices, Moderna Therapeutics and Waters, have turned to BDS for help navigating the tax incentives process.

Lynn is a member of the Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Associated Industries of Massachusetts, the Board of Trustees of the Milford Regional Healthcare Foundation and several Chambers of Commerce. Lynn received the 2019 Next Century Award from the Associated Industries of Massachusetts, which also named her Top Job Creator in 2018. She was included in the New England Real Estate Journal’s 2018 “Women in Real Estate,” and named the 2017 Business Person of the Year by the Tri-Town Chamber of Commerce. A frequent speaker at economic and development forums, Lynn was recently a featured panelist in MassEcon’s Spotlight Series. Visit businessdevelopment-strategies.com to learn more.

Carol Conway Bulman is the CEO of Jack Conway and serves as the Chair of the Board. Jack Conway is the largest independent real estate company in Massachusetts and includes Conway Financial Services, Columbia Title Company and Conway Country Insurance as part of their services. During her tenure as Conway CEO, she has received numerous awards for her professional and philanthropic achievements. Bulman is the Chair of the Board of Trustees for South Shore Health and a member of the New England Federal Reserve Advisory Committee. She also co-chairs the South Shore Redevelopment Committee and is a past president of the Massachusetts Mortgage Association. Bulman holds degrees from Providence College and the National School of Mortgage Banking in Chicago. Visit jackconway.com to learn more.

Stephen DiPrete joined South Shore Bank in 2020 and brings nearly twenty-five years of banking experience and an award-winning record of providing customized commercial lending and cash management solutions. Prior to joining South Shore Bank, Stephen spent sixteen years at Eastern Bank, most recently as a Senior Vice President with the Middle Market Lending team.

Stephen coaches youth basketball and serves on the Board of Governors at Foxboro Country Club. Stephen also serves on the Corporate Advisory Council of Cradles to Crayons and is a passionate supporter of veterans’ organizations, including Mass Fallen Heroes, Veterans Legal Services and The New England Center and Home for Veterans. Visit southshorebank.com to learn more.

Jason Korb is the principal of Capstone Communities LLC where he has developed market rate, mixed income, and 100% affordable housing. Since founding Capstone in October 2010, Jason has successfully completed a total of $130,000,000 of development transactions in Cambridge, Somerville, Arlington, Newton, Brockton and Bridgewater Massachusetts. These include converting Brockton’s first brick shoe factory into 25 mixed-income apartments, co-developing 20 100% affordable family apartments on a vacant lot in Cambridge’s Port neighborhood, assembling three parcels and converting three single family homes (including moving one of the houses) into 40, 100% affordable family apartments in Porter Square, Cambridge, and The McElwain School Apartments, a 57 unit mixed-income development in Bridgewater that includes Passive House and historic construction.

Prior to forming Capstone, Jason was the Vice President of Acquisitions at Beacon Communities LLC, a developer, owner, and manager of over 9,000 apartment homes in the Northeast. At Beacon, Jason was responsible for sourcing new acquisitions and overseeing mixed income and market rate development and financing opportunities. Jason specializes in complex affordable housing transactions that involve multiple government subsidies. In his seven years at Beacon, Jason was responsible for developing and/or preserving over 600 apartment homes totaling over $100M. Prior to joining Beacon in 2004, Jason was a Housing Project Manager at the Fenway Community Development Corporation in Boston.

Jason is a Director of CHAPA, a Director of 2Life Communities and a Trustee of the Newton Affordable Housing Trust. Jason received an MS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Center for Real Estate and a BA from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Jason’s MIT thesis, The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit: HERA, ARRA, and Beyond has been cited by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies and the US Senate Budget Committee. Visit capstonecommunities.com to learn more.